Oregon
State Capitol
900
Court Street NE, S-323
Salem,
Oregon 97301
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Michael Gay
March
30, 2010 (503) 986-1950
(503) 781-8559
Senate Republicans call
for immediate action on teacher training
If
administration doesn’t act, Republicans will re-introduce legislation
in 2011
Salem,
OR – Oregon Senate Republicans
are calling for the Oregon Department of Education to immediately implement
a comprehensive, statewide professional development program for Oregon
teachers. On Monday, Oregon was ranked 7th from the bottom out
of 40 states in a federal “Race to the Top” application for
$200 million in federal aid.
“Oregon
could have world-class teachers, but teachers need access to the highest
quality tools and training in order to produce excellent rather than
average student performance,” said Senator Bruce Starr
(R-Hillsboro). “The Department of Education can’t drag its
feet on professional development any longer. It is a necessity, and its
absence is hurting Oregon students.”
In addition to landing near the bottom in the
“Race to the Top,” Oregon was given a grade of “F”
in a January
study ranking teacher effectiveness. Oregon fails to require any link
between student learning gains and teacher evaluations. Teachers also are
allowed to graduate from probationary teaching to a full license without
any demonstration of classroom effectiveness. Oregon fell short in the
“Race to the Top” because it had little to no plans guaranteeing
the effectiveness of teachers and administrators. According to one
reviewer, “Oregon’s application does not describe any strategy
to ensure equitable distribution of effective or highly effective teachers
or principals.”
“We already have a blueprint for the changes we
need,” said Starr. “If the Department of Education
doesn’t act, we will force the issue in 2011. One way or another, we
must ensure that teachers start getting the training they need to be
successful.”
The non-partisan Chalkboard Project
did a study
of professional development practices in six Oregon school districts. They
found that teachers uniformly call for more collaborative professional
development time, better and more equitable access to quality trainers, and
increased networking with neighboring districts. They also recognize that
as school districts expand their investments and strive to improve quality,
teachers will need better outcome measures—changes in teacher
practice and student achievement—to demonstrate expected successes to
parents, policymakers, and taxpayers.
Since 2007, Oregon Senate Republicans have been
calling for state-wide standards in professional development courses and a
network that makes courses, resources and research available to all
educators in the state. Senate Republicans fought for teacher training again
in 2008, attempting to make it a priority of
the special session.
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